Allie Preston, Author at Friends of the Everglades

Everglades Illustrated: Sanibel Red Tide Report

Take a look at these photos from Friends of the Everglades Multimedia Producer Leah Voss. The images from a recent visit to Sanibel Island offer a sobering look at a community still very much in distress after Hurricane Ian made direct landfall along Florida’s west coast on September 28. Much of the island remains off limits to visitors as the local population continues the hard work of recovery. The latest threat exacerbating the post-storm situation hangs heavy in the air and the surrounding water — red tide. Along the shoreline, Leah described a nauseating smell and an unmistakable tickle at the back of her throat. A dead seabird laid in the [...]

Allie Preston2022-12-14T09:56:29-05:00December 13th, 2022|Caloosahatchee Estuary, Everglades Illustrated, Red Tide|

Honoring Tom Van Lent: 2022 recipient of our Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Everglades Restoration award

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Everglades Restoration award acknowledges contributions to science-based solutions that drive forward the central mission of Friends of the Everglades: to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world. No person has brought about more recent advancements in Everglades-restoration science than Dr. Thomas Van Lent. Tom built a science program that provides a credible basis for advocacy — one that the entire Everglades community has leaned on as guidance for action — and has been directly involved in nearly every major Everglades issue for the past two decades, from water-quality litigation to Everglades restoration projects. Friends of the Everglades board member Alan Farago said it best when presenting Tom [...]

Allie Preston2022-12-08T15:30:09-05:00December 8th, 2022|Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Science-driven solutions|

Honoring Theodora Long: 2022 recipient of our Defender of the Everglades award

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Defender of the Everglades award is presented annually to a person with exemplary commitment to Friends of the Everglades’ mission to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world. This award acknowledges the recipient's significant contributions to the world of Everglades restoration and highlights someone who embodies the spirit of our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. This year we honored Theodora Long. A respected and dedicated environmentalist, Theo serves as the Executive Director of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center — a nonprofit organization that shares heritage with Friends of the Everglades in that it was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969. Theo’s esteemed stewardship was fostered in part by a longstanding [...]

Allie Preston2022-12-08T15:22:38-05:00December 8th, 2022|Defender of the Everglades Award, Marjory Stoneman Douglas|

2nd Annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Legacy Luncheon Highlights

Thanks to those who joined us, our second annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Legacy Luncheon on December 5, 2022, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove! “It is good people who make good places,” novelist Anna Sewell once said, and your presence boosted our spirits and strengthened our resolve. We invite you to enjoy some photo highlights from the event below. [...]

Allie Preston2022-12-07T14:48:04-05:00December 7th, 2022|Marjory Stoneman Douglas|

75 Years of Everglades National Park

The river of grass stretches out over Miccosukee lands north of Tamiami Trail on Oct. 25, 2022. 75 Years of Everglades National Park "There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them: their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of [...]

Allie Preston2022-11-30T14:30:48-05:00December 6th, 2022|Everglades National Park, Everglades Zen, Marjory Stoneman Douglas|

Toast the holidays!

The end of the year is fast approaching, and with just three weeks between us and Christmas, this one goes out to all the kindred spirits who are racking their brains for last-minute gift ideas. We’ll even do you one better with a suggestion under $20 — A.K.A the perfect stocking stuffer. Raise a glass to the “River of Grass” with this Friends of the Everglades pint glass featuring one of our favorite quotes from our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Marjory is said to have finished each day with an ounce or two of scotch. Perhaps that helped fuel the fire behind her tenacious spirit. Whatever your drink of choice may be, this glass is the perfect excuse to raise [...]

Allie Preston2022-12-01T10:59:12-05:00December 2nd, 2022|Friends of the Everglades SHOP|

Glades residents are calling for The Last Burn Season

Sugarcane burns in fields north of Pahokee on Oct. 21, 2022. At the start of 2022, Friends of the Everglades set out on a video project chronicling the widespread negative impacts of sugarcane burning, which disproportionately impacts the Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee. Today, we are proud to present the final installment of this project. The final video, narrated by Glades resident Kina Phillips, represents a culmination of the fears, frustrations and ultimately the hope that we heard from each subject in a series of interviews over the course of five months. It offers a rallying cry that is as true today as it was when the burns started decades ago: Enough is enough. This project [...]

Allie Preston2022-11-18T10:00:15-05:00November 23rd, 2022|Sugarcane Burning|

The Last Burn Season video series: Enough is enough

Sugarcane burning leaves communities vulnerable to air pollution, health risks and economic stress. It’s time to forge a meaningful path to a long-overdue solution. Make this the Last Burn Season. This video marks the end of our Last Burn Season mini-docuseries. Over the course of five months, the project laid bare the undue harm sugarcane burning imposes on the Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee. Leading us from Belle Glade to Pahokee to Lake Harbor and South Bay, this series featured community members who shared their personal experiences living in the shadow of sugarcane burning. Residents of the Glades are proud members of a vibrant community. There’s a yearning for the outside world to see and embrace the rich [...]

Allie Preston2022-11-18T09:35:38-05:00November 21st, 2022|"The Last Burn Season" Video Series|

Everglades Illustrated: Wrong project, wrong place

Last week, Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted 8-4 to approve the South Dade Logistics and Technology District, effectively gutting the Urban Development Boundary in favor of sprawling, industrial development at the expense of our natural environment. The original footprint of the project, identified in the map above, has since been reduced in size from 800 acres to a 311-acre mix of warehouses, call centers and other commercial uses south of Florida’s Turnpike. Regardless, it remains the wrong project in the wrong place, with construction slated for “Coastal High Hazard Area'' in dangerous proximity to Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay and ongoing Everglades restoration projects. As another tropical storm approaches Florida's coast, it's more clear than ever: It's reckless to bend [...]

Allie Preston2022-11-07T17:05:08-05:00November 8th, 2022|Everglades Illustrated, Everglades Restoration, Hold the Line, Stopping Sprawl|

Support Friends of the Everglades on Give Miami Day!

The most impactful online-giving event in South Florida is upon us! Friends of the Everglades is excited to participate once again in Give Miami Day on November 17! Please show your support of our mission to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world by donating online at: everglades.org/givemiamiday2022. There has never been a more important time to safeguard our fragile Everglades and the surrounding environment. This year, we have: • FOUGHT an 800-acre industrial development on low-lying farmland in Homestead, near Biscayne Bay. • ADVOCATED for a new Lake Okeechobee water-management plan to prioritize public health & fragile ecosystems. • RALLIED to end sugarcane burning & convert to green harvesting. Your Donations Power Our Work! Meet [...]

Allie Preston2022-11-14T08:30:22-05:00November 3rd, 2022|All Posts|